


this is the offering by fire

by Ford_Ye_Fiji



Series: and love will be your teacher [15]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Because I can, Fluff, Gen, Maybe if I ever finish this series I’ll say it XD, Mild maiko again, No Incest, Sibling Bonding, These titles ....., both Azula and Zuko are hairbenders, i would like to say for the record, never never never, ya'll I’m getting them from somewhere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:14:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21535030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ford_Ye_Fiji/pseuds/Ford_Ye_Fiji
Summary: The fire squad makes some new, considerably better memories at Zuko's old summer home on Ember Island.
Series: and love will be your teacher [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1511504
Comments: 19
Kudos: 934
Collections: Finished111





	this is the offering by fire

**Author's Note:**

> Me, staring at my notes: ..... im starting to run out of buffer for this series

"Are you sure you don’t miss your family?"

Mai shrugged, glaring at the dwindling embers, "Yeah. Pretty sure."

Zuko's brows furrowed, lips thin with worry. Mai sighed, "Look Zuko. You- you weren’t the only one who..." she sighed, "Who had problems." She put her chin in her hands, "We used to have fun. When we used to play together."

Zuko shrugged, "I guess." 

Mai nodded, "My parents.... they didn't really care if I had fun or not. I was supposed to be their perfect daughter, who did whatever they want- which most of the time was staying silent." She sighed gloomily, as if reciting something she’d been told many times, "Children should be seen and not heard."

Zuko's brows furrowed as he watched the smoldering fire fade into the cool night air. He looked away quickly, he wasn’t very good with fire right now.

Mai played with the ends of her hair, "I've found that it's easier to not care about anything at all. That seemed to make them happy." She huffed, flipping her hair behind her, "So no, I don’t miss them. In fact, I think I hated everything about them."

She drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them with furrowed brow. Zuko put his hand on her shoulder tentatively, "Well I don’t know about you, but I think you’re nicer when you care about things."

Mai blinked and stared at him as Zuko continued, looking away from her, "Even when you talk about them and how you hate them. It’s kinda nice. You know, you... you come alive. You have feelings." He laughed when he realized how funny he sounded, "I love it when you hate things."

Mai flushed, looking at Ty Lee and Azula snoring against Princess Cuddlemuffin's warm belly. She rested her chin on knees, smiling shyly, "Oh, well. I guess I like it when you hate things too."

* * *

Ty Lee hung upside down from a tree branch, "How does your eye feel, Zuko?"

He shrugged, smearing the ointment they’d gotten from the town gently over his eye, "Hurts. Like always."

Ty Lee hummed, swinging idly, still upside down, "It’s getting better though. It looks great compared to you know, last week!"

Zuko scowled, "It’s not healing fast enough."

Ty Lee's brows softened sympathetically, "What are you going to do once your eye heals? I know the plan is to challenge Ozai to an Agni Kai or something, but- but do you think you can actually win?"

Zuko sighed, a hand gently probing the sensitive scar tissue around his eye. He winced. He could hear Iroh talking strategy in the back of his head and his heart ached, "No. I don’t think I can." He placed his chin in his hand, "But I’ve got to try. What else can we do?"

Ty Lee frowned, "Yeah... what else..."

Zuko tied a fresh bandage over his eye, "He needs to be brought to justice for what he did to father." He wilted, "And to mother."

Ty Lee pulled herself up into a sitting position on the branch, thinking deeply, "Well, what would Uncle Iroh want you to do?" She fiddled with her braid, "I only met him a few times, but he didn’t really seem like the revenge type of person."

Zuko snapped defensively, "It’s not revenge, it’s justice!" He wiped his hands on his pants, too shabby for a prince, but clean and inconspicuous unlike the robes they’d escaped in. Ty Lee eyed him warily and chirped, "Are you sure about that?"

Zuko huffed, looking away.

He wasn’t, actually. He wasn’t sure at all.

Ty Lee tapped her chin with her hand, "Well, at this point I usually ask myself, what would Azula do? Though, I don’t think that would help in this case."

What would  Iroh tell him to do?

Well, Iroh would tell him to slow down, to think things through. He always rushed decisions like these and he rarely stopped to think more about them before acting. But Iroh wasn’t here anymore. Iroh was  gone . It was up to him to make the decisions now. He didn’t think he was ready for that quite yet, but nevertheless here he was.

Zuko frowned. Well, he had at least a month to think about what to do about Ozai. A month, and then he would decide what to do.

Decision made, Zuko shrugged, "I don’t like the idea of an Agni Kai. But we have a month to think up something else." He lifted his eyes to hers, "I really hope we do."

Ty Lee seemed surprisingly serious, "I’ll do my best to help you!"

Zuko smiled slightly, a rare thing after his scarring and now that Iroh was no longer there to tease them out of him, "Thank you, Ty Lee. That actually really helped."

The girl smiled brightly, swinging upside down again on her tree branch, long braid swinging, "Anytime, Zuko!"

* * *

Zuko can’t sleep. He hadn't been able to sleep since, well,  everything . He hadn't practiced his firebending forms either. Azula had noticed, he knew, but she hadn’t said anything about it. At least, not yet. He can’t help but hope that she'll keep quiet about it for a little longer yet. He doesn’t think he’d be able to handle that on top of the restless nights. 

On those nights sometimes he dreams of father swallowed by flames and fading to ash, sometimes he dreams of Ozai and his face burning away, and sometimes, what is perhaps the worst of all, he dreams of dragons. 

Tonight is one of those nights. 

Zuko can already tell. 

He knows it’s a dream, but he still finds himself sitting on his father's throne, unable to see out of his left eye. The blue dragon curls around his right and he feels rather than sees the red dragon sitting at his left. The blue dragon narrows its eyes and hisses in Ozai's voice, "You coward, why do you not face me?" 

The red dragon shifts it’s head and Zuko catches the scarlet scales glinting out of the corner of his good eye. The red dragon snorts in his father's, in Iroh's, voice, "Do not listen to him, Prince Zuko! Do not face him. It is not your destiny." 

Zuko's dream-self furrows his brow and even though he knows what will happen, he can’t stop himself, "What  is my destiny, father? If not me, who else?" He stands, "I must save my people, I must restore their honor!" As always, he turns to face the blue dragon.

The red dragon fades at his back, despair and disappointment burning away into nothing. The blue dragon laughs, "My son," his laughter turns into a hiss, "you will learn  _respect_ and  _suffering_ will be your teacher."

Zuko's eyes widen and the dragon opens its maw and flames engulf him. Ursa screams and Azula shrieks, he sees the explosion that devoured Iroh towering into a starless sky, and darkness swallows him whole.

That is always when he wakes, and it is the same this time as well.

Zuko opens his eyes to see stars through the cracks of the roof of the old abandoned summer home. He turns over and closes his eyes, pretending that he isn’t crying. He misses his father and his mother. He misses home. He misses Iroh.

He wraps his fingers around his shirt as if that will somehow heal the hole in his chest, and he tries to sleep.

He doesn’t.

* * *

"Why did you help Zuko escape, Azula?"

Azula raised an eyebrow, pausing in her firebending forms to stare at Mai idly sharpening her knives on a rock, "What do you mean?"

Mai met her eyes, "I know you didn’t help him becuase it was the 'right' thing to do. You’ve changed but you’re definitely not  that stupidly noble." She added, "Yet."

Azula snapped automatically, "Well  you’ve changed too. You used to be fun but now you’re just bored all the time." She felt bad about saying that, but not bad enough to bruise her pride by apologizing.

Mai blinked slowly at her, "Yeah, alright. I suppose you haven’t changed _that_ much. But you still didn’t answer my question."

Azula shrugged, fist curling around blue flames, "Zuzu is mine."

"Oh, is that all?" The girl resumed sharpening her knives, the harsh  scrape scrape of the knife against rock grating on her nerves, "How... boring."

Azula paused, "Excuse me?"

Mai didn’t look at her, "You heard me. _Boring_."

Azula gave up on her firebending practice and stomped over to her suddenly irritating friend, "I’m not boring!" She’d always had respect for Mai for standing up to herself and having her own opinions. But right now she found herself wishing for Ty Lee's enthusiastic cooperativeness.

Mai sighed, lifting her eyes to meet Azula's, "Zuko isn’t your toy, Azula. Neither am I or Ty Lee. We're not yours to break or to abuse. I thought you’d finally understood that. Guess I was wrong."

Azula put her hands on her hips, teeth clenched, "I  saved him."

Mai seemed to be getting impatient, which was an improvement in Azula's eyes to her annoying placidity, "For your own selfish reasons. If he wasn’t yours, you would’ve left him to rot and followed the Fire Lord anyway."

"I- I wouldn’t have!"

It was overall a painfully obvious lie compared to her usual skill in that area.

Mai stood, " I wouldn’t have left you.  Ty Lee would never have left you to rot, and neither would _Zuko_. He would’ve helped you because you’re his sister and he loves you, Agni knows why. Fire Lord Ozai is the only one who would have left you to rot, because to him people aren’t people- they’re _things_. And Zuko, Zuko is a  _person_ , not a toy- and he may be yours, but you’re also his. It’s a give and take thing, it always has been." Mai put away her knives, "If you’d truly changed, you would know that."

Mai pivoted on her heel and stormed away into the ruins of the house.

Azula whirled and kicked the dirt angrily, pretending that Mai's words didn’t bother her all that much. Azula was a good liar, but even she couldn’t fool herself.

* * *

Azula sat, eyes closed, “Can I look?"

Ty Lee sighed mournfully, "It was so long."

Azula wrinkled her nose, "It was impractical."

She could feel Mai rolling her eyes behind her, "Yeah, but now you look like an earth kingdom peasant."

Ty Lee murmured sadly, as if her favorite pet had died, "I don’t think even earth kingdom peasants have hair this short."

Azula snapped, "Oh come off it!"

She opened her eyes and looked into the tide pool. She blinked, "It’s not  that short."

Ty Lee wailed, "But it used to be to your waist! Now it’s only shoulder length!" She wiped at her tears, sniffing sadly, "It was so thick and pretty."

Azula scoffed, the unfamiliar lack of weight pulling on her head exciting in its newness, "Its good, now I don’t have to worry about it when I firebend!"

She turned, grinning, "I like it!"

She could hear mother in her head asking her what you were supposed to say after someone did you a favor. Ignoring the sudden twist in her stomach at the thought of mother, she half bowed to the mournful Ty Lee, "Thank you for cutting it."

Ty Lee looked completely blindsided for a split second before leaping forwards and sweeping the fire nation Princess up into a hug, "Of course! Anytime, Azula!"

Azula snapped, struggling, "Yes, alright, I get the idea!"

Ty Lee beamed and let go.

Azula huffed and brushed her hair out of her face, "Let's go find Zuzu. I want to see his reaction to my scandalous haircut."

Ty Lee tittered. Mai scoffed, but followed them both.

* * *

Zuko didn’t expect to be ambushed during his morning rituals. The sun was just cresting over the horizon, he was breathing in Agni's light, and Azula was grabbing the collar of his shirt and snapping, "C'mon, Zuzu, get up!"

Zuko fell over backwards from his sister's sudden surprising force and hit the ground with a thunk. He glared up at her, "Azula..."

Azula blinked with surprise, clearly not expecting him to fall, and let go, "I didn’t mean to do that."  


Zuko sighed, "What do you want, Azula?"

Azula crossed her arms, "Well you’ll see if you follow me." She tossed her hair, and left her brother behind, confident his curiosity would win out. 

It did. 

Zuko followed Azula out to the barren courtyard, cautiously looking around, "What did you want me to see?"

His sister turned, her smirk positively devilish, "We're ending this stupid charade once and for all." She lunged, blue fire shooting outwards, towards his face. Zuko froze, paralyzed before he finally moved, nearly a second too late. He dropped to the ground, breathless. 

Azula put her hands on her hips, words stinging him with disapproval and disgust, "You  ducked . A  _real_ firebender would’ve deflected that!" She launched another attack and Zuko rolled away, sprawling in the dirt, chest heaving as he tried to pretend he wasn’t absolutely terrified, "Azula, what are you doing? Are you _crazy?_ "

Azula scoffed, "You're the crazy one, dum-dum."

Zuko scrambled to his feet as she threw another swath of blue fire at him, he nearly fell over backwards avoiding the wave of flame, "You're a firebender, Zuzu! Act like it!" 

He ducked behind a corner of the house, snarling with frustration and bewilderment, heart pounding in his chest, "What do you mean?!"

"I mean," she stomped over, "I’ve seen how scared you are of fire, and that’s stupid! Even for you, Zuko!" She whirled, flinging fireballs at him and pushing him into a corner. He glowered, "I’m not afraid!" 

"Oh really?" She punched forward, fist covered in fire and he fell backwards into the wall's corner, eyes blown wide and breath frozen. Azula stopped plenty short enough of her brother's face and drew back her fist, "You've always been a terrible liar, Zuko." 

Zuko's chest heaved, before he managed to spit, "You're the worst, Azula." 

She cocked her hip, "I am." She started backing up, "You're a firebender afraid of fire, which would be funny if it wasn’t so sad." Zuko glared, clearly still terrified as Azula snapped, "Now stop thinking like a scared little kid,  Prince Zuko. I know you’re not a coward or someone to be pitied- so stop being one and act like a real firebender!" 

Azula attacked, and Zuko started, bringing his hands up and parting her wave of blue fire like a curtain. He gaped, Azula grinned, "Finally!" 

She brought her hands up, "Now,  fight me!" 

Zuko glowered and kicked outwards, golden fire following the movement like the trail of a comet. Azula ducked gracefully, and then stumbled backwards, not expecting her brother to lash out with a fire whip on his turnaround. She grinned, all teeth as her brother fought with furrowed brow, eyes narrowed with concentration.

They traded blows, back and forth, like a complicated and deadly dance, back into the courtyard. Finally they faced each other, both panting from the exertion, but with grins on their faces, Azula's elated and Zuko's small and bright.

Azula brought forth her fire, azure flames towering high, Zuko cradled his burning orange-gold fire around him, protective and immense. Both paused, heart in their throats, waiting for the other to act.

"Will you two idiots please stop before you burn down the whole house?"

They both turned, blinking with surprise at Mai standing there in her sleep robes, arms crossed. Zuko turned pink and dissipated his fire as he immediately clapped his hands over his eye. It wasn’t polite to look at a girl in her pajamas. His mother had told him that.

Azula huffed, letting her own flame vanish back into the sun, "We were just having a bit of fun."

Mai rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah, sure. Just don’t do it near the dumb house!" She gestured at the scorched courtyard and burnt walls.

Azula huffed and Zuko sulked, eye still covered.

* * *

Zuko sat crosslegged in his parent's old room. It was the only place with a mirror, or what had once been a mirror. It’s broken and shattered, a few shards of it scattered on the floor like discarded flower petals. He is here only because of necessity.

His swollen eye had finally settled. His skin is strained and it still pulled, but he figured it was time. Time to remove the bandage for good.

He unwound it slowly, pulling it down.

He winced.

His scar stretched from the bride of his nose to his mangled ear. At least he can still hear out of it, even if it is only an ugly shell crumpled inwards. His hair is growing longer again, and at least it helps to hide the vaguely hand and flame shaped scar.

His eyebrow is gone still and he doesn’t think it’s ever going to grow back. Zuko sighed and gently probed the still tender scar. His eye is still there, he knows, but he’s half afraid that if he opens it, he will still see darkness. Zuko swallowed and slowly blinked. His eyelid is sticky, lashes burnt away forever, and he winced with disgust.

His revulsion is forgotten in an instant. He  _sees_ out of his left eye. Zuko half-laughed, leaning forward, studying himself in the mirror. He’s forgotten what being able to see out of both eyes had felt like. He blinked again. Sure, things are a little fuzzy in that eye, but far better than he’d expected.

Zuko burnt his bandage, watching it fade away into ash. That taken care of, he stood, making his way to the campfire outside.

Princess Cuddlemuffins had decided to spend the night near them, apparently. She is flopped over on her side, awfully close to Mai. Zuko knew Princess Cuddlemuffins liked Mai for some reason unknown to the irritated girl. (He knew why though, it was because she smelled nice.) Zuko also knew Mai secretly liked Princess Cuddlemuffins preferring her over nearly anyone else. (Zuko still held the Komodo rhino's heart. He snuck her apples and jerky whenever he could.)

Zuko stood by the campfire, "What's for dinner?"

Azula waved a fish on a stick without looking up, "Ty Lee went fishing."

Ty Lee preened, "I’m apparently very good at fishing."

Zuko nodded, "That’s good because I’m not."

Azula laughed, turning to face him, "You’ve got that right, dum-dum-“ her laughter stalled in her throat. Mai and Ty Lee looked up, trying to see what had made Azula go disconcertingly silent, lips pressed into a thin line.

Ty Lee saw it first, wincing.

Mai figured it out when her eyes found Zuko's face.

The three girls stared up at the raw expansive scar quietly. Zuko realized it was the first time anyone other than him in their group had seen it. Azula swallowed and snapped, "You are the worst at fishing."

Ty Lee cleared her throat, "Y- yeah."

Zuko's shoulders hunched. He knew why they had all stopped to stare at him with eyes full of pity. He had a feeling he would have to get used to stares like that.

Mai frowned and stood. Princess Cuddlemuffins grunted unhappily at her absence. She stomped over to Zuko, arms crossed, "Well, I think it makes you look very brave." She leaned forward and, so quickly Zuko almost thought he’d imagined it, kissed him on the cheek.

Zuko flushed.

Azula blinked in astonishment.

Ty Lee squeaked, her grin impossibly wide.

Mai glowered at them as if daring them to say anything and stomped back over to the sleeping Komodo rhino.

Zuko sat down, face beet red, almost matching his scar.

Azula coughed, "So anyone want some fish?"

* * *

Zuko sat on the Fire Lord's throne. The blue dragon curves around his right, the blood red dragon curling around his left. He still couldn’t see out of his bad eye. Ozai's voice whispered once again from the blue dragon, "You weakling, why do you not come and fight me?"

Iroh's voice pleads from the mouth of the red dragon, "Please do not heed his words, Prince Zuko! Do not go and face him. It is not your destiny."

Zuko opens his mouth, words automatically rising to his lips, "What  is my destiny, father? If not me, who else?" He stands, "I must save my people, I must restore their honor!"

He pauses on the threshold, good eye flicking towards the blue dragon, waiting for him. He takes a deep breath, and, he breaks the cycle. It’s easier than he’d thought. Zuko snarls, "My destiny is my own. My destiny is what I make of it. I  won’t fight you." He turns and finally,  _finally_ , faces the red dragon. His eyes widen, yes  eyes , he can see out of both again.

"My son," murmurs the dragon in Iroh's voice, so full of love and relief, "I am so proud of you."

The dragon rises, opens it's maw and speaks in a voice he dimly recognizes, but from where he does not know, " _My sun,_ " it breathes, leaning down to press its forehead into his hand, golden eyes blazing as bright as his, staring into his very soul, " _There is nothing that can be done to stop the imbalance of the world. It is inevitable, as surely as I ride west, so too will the four nations fall._ "

Zuko feels his heart sink, "It's hopeless? My destiny and the destiny of the fire nation is to lay down and die?"

" _Yes. Unless, something that is lost is found. There is only one person who can restore harmony to the world, anyone else who tries will fail no matter how noble they are. Even you, my sun._ "

"Who can restore balance then? And why are you telling me and not them?"

" _Because they are lost, they have been lost for a long time. Even I cannot see them. But you, I read it in your soul. You will find the Avatar. You must find him and restore balance in the world. Only you can do this. It is your destiny._ "

Zuko blinks, "Me?"

The dragon stares into his eyes, burning like the sun, " _You, Fire Lord Zuko. You must find him._ "

The dragons opens its mouth and fire surrounds them, warm and comforting. Zuko breaths and he feels the power of Agni fill his lungs and the firelight... The firelight feels like home. 

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is here: https://ford-ye-fiji.tumblr.com/


End file.
